Saulo Ribeiro hides injury, gets to final and wins fifth World Master title

Saulo Ribeiro left the mat in a clearly emotional state. Photo by Luca Atalla

It took Saulo Ribeiro a whole bunch of tenacity to achieve his feat at the World Master Championship, which is taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada. The black-belt under Royler Gracie suffered a tear in his bicep tendon in a master-3 heavyweight semifinal. Even with the pain, he hid the injury from his team and decided to fight in the final. With a nice takedown, Saulo defeated Cristiano “Titi” Lazzarini and left the mat in a clearly emotional state. This is the fifth title won by Saulo in World Master history.

The day has also been special for São Paulo’s Roberto Godoi, who got double gold at master-3. First, he won the super-heavyweight as he subbed Steve Austin. Then, he got the second gold as he finished Cristiano “Titi” Lazzarini with a lapel choke.

Two thousand one world champion Márcio Corleta beat Carlos Farias 6-0 to get the ultra-heavyweight title. Master-3 medium heavyweight gold went to Marcus Bello, who defeated Marcelo “Uirapurú” Azevedo by one advantage. At middleweight in the same age group, Cassio Werneck outplayed Paulo Guillobel 11-0 in the final.

After 18 years away from competition, Carlson Gracie Jr. went back to the mats to commemorate the legacy of his father, who died ten years ago. Carlson fought in the master-4 medium heavyweight class and got bronze after two matches.

Carlson Gracie Jr. got bronze after two matches. Photo by Mike Pesh

“I did very well in the first fight; I managed to deploy my game well. In the second I was matched with a very tough guy who managed to stifle my guard. But I’m very happy. I made a promise that I was gonna fight; I trained, prepared myself, and there’s no sob story to tell. I hope now I can return to competition,” Carlson told IBJJF’s Facebook page.

The winner of the master-4 medium heavyweight class was Eduardo Rocha, who beat Carlos Terrinha by one advantage. Terrinha had a great comeback at the open class and took the gold as he finished David Blau with an ankle lock.

At the master-5, Wellington Megaton was the big name. After he beat the field at featherweight, Megaton defeated Evaldo Lima in the open class by 1-0 on advantages and conquered double gold.